Mate Bors

Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories

August 21, 2006

PlayStation 2 / Reviews / by Mate Bors Make a comment! / Tweet it!

[i]Liberty City Stories[/i] is the fourth [i]Grand Theft Auto[/i] game on the PlayStation 2, and the first port of an original PSP game (strange, it usually happens vice versa), which we have already [url=http://www.snackbar-games.com/r345.html]reviewed[/url]. I won’t go into the story, because that has been covered in the PSP games’ review.

So what has changed during the port? Well, I’m afraid nothing really, which is a real shame. The controls have been adjusted to the two analog sticks of the PS2, but that’s about it.

The sound remains the same. The music and radio stations aren’t the best, but the funny dialogs and great voice acting certainly make up for it.

Graphics look the same on the PS2 port, as in the PSP version. While on the PSP it was/is jaw-dropping, these kind of graphics in 2006 (even on the PS2’s hardware), are pretty lame. I wished that at Rockstar they would have beefed up the graphics, even if just a little bit.

There are also no added features (not like there aren’t plenty). You still can’t swim, fly helicopters, and all the things that didn’t make it in the PSP version, which is also a shame. I think I am not the only one that would have paid full price for a game that has a bunch of added features that were in San Andreas (weapons, side missions, and features), new radio stations and decent graphics.

But don’t be sad; [i]Liberty City Stories[/i] is still a fun game. Since it was designed for the PSP, the missions are quite short, but there are plenty. The game could take you dozens of hours to beat, if you play all the side missions.

Even though the game is budget priced, I recommend renting it. With the lack of added features, the fact remains that it is “just a port” and that it is not too long compared to other GTA games… it simply can’t justify a purchase for me.

2006 FIFA World Cup

August 21, 2006

Reviews / Xbox 360 / by Mate Bors Make a comment! / Tweet it!

Despite the fact that the soccer World Cup has been over for more than a month now and while I was waiting for [i]FIFA 07[/i], I decided to get this game and try a few things out.

All of the countries in the world are listed in this game. So let’s say that I wanted to play as a country that didn’t get in (my home country, Hungary). Then I could! I think this is very cool. I would, of course, have to go on a long and hard road of qualifying for the World Cup (which by itself is no easy task) before actually winning it.

If you don’t want to play in qualifiers, you can immediately jump into the World Cup with the countries that actually got into it in real life. However, I think it’s a bigger honor if your country didn’t qualify in real life, and you take them to victory in the game. (Plus, this gets you more achievement points.)

There are also Global Challenges in which you can recreate certain events in FIFA history. This is a very fun concept; not to mention the 500 achievement points one can get by completing all of the events. (You also get 50 achievement points for completing just one event the first time.)

In case you don’t know about soccer, there are two 45 minute periods in a game. Of course, the game is not 90 minutes long; the timing goes much faster. There are some additional minutes added by the referee in case of injuries, penalties and the likes. If there are no goals, and the game happens to be near the finals, there are two 15 minute overtimes added. If there are still no goals, then you shoot penalty kicks.

The gameplay itself is pretty good, but there are a few aspects that keep it from being a great game. If you are new to the game (or to the genre), you will find the game to be frustrating. The learning curve is a bit steep. Memorizing all of the ways to pass, do tricks, and all that jazz will take some time. Sometimes the controls are a bit unresponsive as well.

The graphics are excellent and horrible at the same time. The stadiums and fields look nice, but when there are close-ups to players, they sometimes look outright freaky. A few times while in close-up to Rohnaldino, I got the impression it was an alien from the Ridley Scott film. However, ball and character animation is great-looking. The character animations are alright, but faces aren’t the best at times.

The sound is alright. Commentating can get a little annoying, but the soundtrack is [mostly] listenable. Good thing they are only in the menus. I also think that it was a very special touch to play the national anthem when you win a game.

If you have [i]FIFA 06[/i], this is a rental without a doubt, and even if you don’t have it, I still suggest renting it. The game is fun, but I don’t think it justifies a 60 dollar purchase on the Xbox 360 (especially when on other platforms they are 30 dollars). Rent this, and wait for the upcoming [i]FIFA 07[/i] which is coming at the end of September.

Zuma

July 25, 2006

Reviews / Xbox 360 / by Mate Bors Make a comment! / Tweet it!

[i][b]Editor’s Note:[/b][/i] Zuma is basically identical to [url=http://www.snackbar-games.com/r361.html]Magnetica[/url], which we reveiwed back in June 2006.

[i]Zuma[/i] is an interesting game available via Xbox Live Arcade. The premise of the game is quite simple; You control a frog and you have to match 3 or more of the same colored balls by shooting them from the frog’s mouth. (Screenshots clarify the concept). Sounds simple right? It hardly is. To succeed at [i]Zuma[/i] you need to use strategy to match the balls up in chains to get a higher score. You must also fill up the [i]Zuma[/i] bar so no more balls come out, and at all cost avoid shooting a ball into the skull hole or it’s a game over. Thank goodness you have three lives at start and at every 50,000 points you get another life. To speed up the process of getting points, you can also pick up coins which can prove to be quite difficult. Collecting 100 coins will earn you an Achievement and Gamerscore points.

There are two modes in [i]Zuma[/i], Adventure mode and Gauntlet mode. In Adventure mode, you go through a number of maps, each with multiple levels, with the difficulty increasing in each map. At the onset of each game you always start from the first level, which makes Adventure mode quite a challenge. It can also make Adventure mode very annoying, especially if you have been playing for quite some time.

In Gauntlet mode the goal is to get the highest possible score. Here too, you progress through different levels of difficulty and various maps. I personally prefer Adventure mode to Gauntlet mode.

If you were like me and thought that it was an easy way to get Achievements and Gamerscore points, then I’m going to have to disappoint you. [i]Zuma[/i] is pretty hard, and some of the Achievements are just crazy (clear a level in five seconds). It only costs a few dollars, but I think you should spend that money (or marketplace points) on other XLA games/add-ons as [i]Zuma[/i] just doesn’t justify the cost. Feel free to check it out if it is ever offered for free.

UNO

June 28, 2006

Reviews / Xbox 360 / by Mate Bors Make a comment! / Tweet it!

[i]UNO[/i] really needs no introduction, I’m sure of it. It’s one of the best, easiest and most popular card games out there. Bringing it to the Xbox Live! Arcade on the 360 was no difficult task, due to the simplicity of the game.

You play against the computer or people (you can play it on Live!), and play [i]UNO[/i]. That’s all there is to do it. If you happen to be one of those people that don’t know [i]UNO[/i], you go around, and putting down cards that match the color or symbol/number of the previous card.

The game is good if you want to add a few easy gamer score points to your account (a total of 200 available). It’s also fun playing with friends online for a few games, in between some “serious” 60 dollar game.

The downsides are, that for one, the music completely sucks. Thank goodness that you can upload your own music onto the Xbox 360 and listen to that meanwhile. Also, the game tends to be monotonous after a while.

I would give this game an 8/10. It’s fun, and good while it lasts, and fairly cheap (400 MS points). If you want to play this alone, then don’t bother with it. The true fun lies within the multiplayer. I say, go ahead and purchase it, because it’s an excellent (not to mention cheap) multiplayer experience.

Silent Hill Experience

May 29, 2006

PSP / Reviews / by Mate Bors Make a comment! / Tweet it!

The [i]Silent Hill Experience[/i] is not a game, let’s start out with that. This UMD was released around the time of the movie for promotion, and to cash in on the collectors.

The UMD features two animated graphic novels set in the Silent Hill universe, one of them being exclusive for this UMD. While the idea was great, in reality it fails. Unless you are an extremely fast reader, you won’t be able to read all of the text in the text bubbles and such, making you miss key information, and just making the experience (pun intended) frustrating. The stories aren’t really Silent Hill-esque, but are still ok. However, the music that underlines it is excellent.

Speaking of the music, there are twenty selected tracks from all four games. I personally think this is the best part of the disc, and the reason I won’t sell it. The music has a great atmosphere and can really get you in the mood of playing some Silent Hill. There is also an interview with the composer

There is also some movie stuff, such as interviews and trailers. Good stuff, but these will probably be in the DVD version of the Silent Hill movie, so this set isn’t something worth buying the UMD for.

While SHE is pretty cheap, I can only recommend it to collectors and fans of the series. The only part that makes SHE stand out is the music, which are available to buy anyways. The digital comic idea failed due to it’s speed, and the movie things will probably be available later. Unless you are a die-hard Silent Hill nut, [i]Silent Hill Experience[/i] is strictly a rental.

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